Mr Secretary General, Mr State Secretary,
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is an honour to welcome you to the Czernin Palace.

Prague has hosted the OSCE Economic and Environmental Forum for three decades. This is more than just a tradition.

It reflects the Czech Republic’s historic connection with the OSCE and our continued interest in ensuring that this organization remains functional and capable of fulfilling its mandates.

I therefore welcome the fact that this year’s Forum is taking place as a duly mandated OSCE event. This should always be the case. Regular meetings of our institutions must take place in accordance with their mandates – whether in Vienna, Prague or Warsaw. And this must apply across all three dimensions of the OSCE.

However, the fact that we are meeting here today does not mean a return to normality. Russia’s war against Ukraine has fundamentally undermined the prospects for broader European cooperation in the field of security. The basic principles upon which this very organization was built have been violated.

I am truly very sorry to say this, colleagues from the Russian Federation, but as long as the war continues on Ukrainian territory, a return to normal relations is unfortunately out of the question.

“Words alone cannot end a war”

The fundamental prerequisite for restoring peace and security in Europe remains an end to the war. As obvious as this may sound, for almost five years we have seen that words alone cannot end a war. What is needed is a genuine willingness to negotiate.

I therefore welcome neutral Switzerland’s readiness to once again host trilateral talks between the United States, Ukraine and Russia, as Alexandre Fasel, who is here with us today, recently mentioned at another meeting.

Both the United States and Ukraine have made clear that they are ready to continue this dialogue. We now need to see the same willingness on the Russian side.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

the current crisis of European security also forces us to ask what role the OSCE should play in the future. I am convinced that this organization still has much to offer.

The OSCE has unique experience in conflict prevention and confidence-building. It has a network of field missions and autonomous institutions. And its comprehensive approach to security allows it to bring together issues that other organizations often address separately.

The OSCE is also one of the very few platforms where dialogue on European security can take place across such a broad geographical area – including with Russia. But dialogue is not an end in itself.

It has value when it helps reduce risks, prevent conflicts and promote respect for the rules and commitments on which European security is based.

The OSCE also has a role to play in helping countries deal with the consequences of conflict. This includes making use of its instruments to document violations of human rights and international humanitarian law.

At the same time, a security organization cannot simply react to crises that have already occurred. If we genuinely want to prevent conflicts, we must be able to identify, at an early stage, changes that could fundamentally affect or worsen the security environment.

This is precisely why I consider the theme of this year’s Forum so timely. Rapid technological development is changing our economies, our societies and our everyday lives. Artificial intelligence, quantum technologies and other emerging fields can undoubtedly become major sources of prosperity, innovation and resilience.

Another risk: uncertainty

But they are also changing security. New technologies affect the way conflicts are fought. They create new vulnerabilities. They change the way we protect critical infrastructure and assess security threats.

And as their importance grows, they create another risk: uncertainty. Uncertainty about the capabilities of new technologies. Uncertainty about how other actors intend to use them. Uncertainty that can lead us to misjudge the capabilities or intentions of the other side.

This is precisely where I see a role for the OSCE.

One of its traditional strengths has always been its ability to promote transparency, reduce misunderstandings and build confidence.

We therefore need to consider how this experience can also be applied in an environment of rapid technological change.

The point is not to turn the OSCE into a technology organization.

The point is to ensure that it understands the security implications of technology and uses its instruments where they can help prevent misunderstandings, reduce risks and strengthen stability.

This, in my view, is the real value of technology foresight for the OSCE.

Science diplomacy is equally important. No government today can fully understand, on its own, the pace of technological change or all of its consequences.

We therefore need cooperation among governments, scientific institutions and the private sector.

Diplomacy needs science to better understand a world that is changing rapidly. And scientific cooperation, in turn, can help build contacts and a shared understanding even where fundamental differences exist between states.

Science diplomacy can help us identify new risks before they become sources of mistrust, instability or conflict.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

for the Czech Republic, this debate is not an abstract one.

We are an open economy with a strong industrial, technological and research base. Science, research and innovation will be among the key sources of our future prosperity.

Our prosperity and our security will therefore increasingly depend on our ability to develop, protect and responsibly use new technologies – and on our ability to cooperate with trusted international partners in doing so.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

this year’s Forum reminds us of something fundamental.

The OSCE must be able to respond to the security crises of today. At the same time, it must understand the trends that will shape the security environment ten or twenty years from now.

Technology foresight and science diplomacy can help us do this.

They can strengthen our ability to anticipate risks. They can contribute to conflict prevention. And they can help the OSCE remain relevant in a rapidly changing security environment.

But there is one thing they cannot replace. They cannot replace respect for international law, for the commitments we have made, and for the fundamental principles of the Helsinki Final Act.

We must prepare the OSCE for the security challenges of tomorrow.

But we must not allow a debate about tomorrow’s risks to distract us from the violations of the OSCE’s fundamental principles that we face today.

Once again, welcome to Prague. I wish you every success in your discussions.

Thank you.